Review: Audi A1 vs Kia Cerato GT
Friday, 30 August 2019
**KIA CERATO GT
Price:** $41,990.
Powertrain: 1.6-litre turbo petrol, 150kW/265Nm, FWD, combined economy 7.4L/100km, 170g/km CO2 (source: RightCar)
Vital statistics: 4520mm long, 1440mm high, 2700mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 502 litres, 18-inch alloy wheels.
**AUDI A1 35 S-LINE
Price:** $47,900.
Powertrain: 1.5-litre turbo petrol, 110kW/250Nm, FWD, combined economy 5L/100km, 115g/km CO2 (source: RightCar).
Vital statistics: 4029mm long, 1409mm high, 2469mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 335 litres, 18-inch alloy wheels.
With car brands ever-spreading their talents into all kinds of places, it's inevitable that makes whose worlds are outwardly quite different might come to collide. Even so: Kia versus Audi? As quirky as that scenario seems, it can occur. Well, more or less.
You're right in thinking that, in purely car-like terms, pitching Ingolstadt's latest A1 against South Korea's Cerato GT isn't a fully equal fight - they're both hatchbacks and almost aligned in engine size, but when it comes to overall size you're talking two kinds of compact. And I hardly need remind the Audi is more expensive. So, you know, not exactly head-to-head…
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Except they still are, kinda, if you accept the proposition that both nonetheless aim at the same customer, this being a person who looks beyond pure specification and price and instead simply wants something that has a bit of fizz and a more decent dollop of kerbside flair. A car that makes their friends just a bit envious.
In which case, perhaps the $6090 gap might not seem that important.
It probably sounds snobbish to suggest there's sense this Cerato is flying in almost rarer air than those who crafted it possibly wanted it to occupy? Quite probably. Yet the evidence from everything being obviously more, well, 'functional' in how it presents inside is impossible to ignore.
Notwithstanding that, it's fair to recognise this version is very much about presenting as an enhanced engineering proposition. It has been a while since Kia had anything approaching a hot hatch in its local line-up, the last one being the European Proceed GT, which was zesty enough yet limited its appeal by being three-door and six-speed manual.
The Cerato GT continues with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine with precisely the same output as the Proceed, but places it in a much more practical five-door body and in marriage to a two-pedal seven-speed twin-clutch transmission, with paddles for manual shifting.
There's markedly more snap than delivered by the Cerato GT-Line driven earlier this year and a firmer suspension, lower (by 5mm) ride height, addition of sticky Michelin Pilot Sport 4 rubber and a hero orange metallic paint adds kudos, too.
Direct-shift boxes are really good when they're done right. Kia's isn't bad, being instantly and enduringly slicker and quicker than the orthodox auto; but Audi's seven-speeder is just always sharper and better programmed. Also, whereas Kia's seems more prone to bang if you push a change through with high revs. Both boxes have paddles and you can also change gears with the stick, but enthusiasts might find frustration in how Korea determines 'manual' to be a setting that will still be over-ridden by electronics.
The Cerato engine is also up for fun, but again with a caveat. There's nothing wrong with its urgency in the 3000-4000rpm range, yet it's not quite fiery enough and has disappointing aural character; too much drone, none of the occasional snap-crackle-pop Audi dishes up.
With the Kia, performance feistiness also depends on which drive mode you need. The car felt more responsive in Smart, which self-adapts according to driver inputs, than Sport, regardless that the latter elevates the engine's aural intensity. Eco is most true to its descriptive; Comfort isn't simply because the car lacks an adaptive suspension.
It's an intriguing car for interesting roads; there's plenty of grip and it feels fairly agile, with body roll kept in check quite well. That said, in achieving high cornering rates and secondary road agility, the suspension team seems to have traded away slow speed comfort; it's fairly crashy at times, while road noise is intrusive.
So, with a little more polish, it could simply shine all the brighter. As the A1 already does. You know the old saying about 'the more you spend, the more you get'? It really rings true here.
How can a physically smaller car with less useful cabin dimensions compete? By being anything but a runt in how it drives.
For sure, this A1 has to work to stay on the GT's tail on a winding road, yet the modesty of its pace is tempered by a sense of genuine attitude.
The chassis is very well sorted; body control is impressive enough when pushed. On point and shoot roads, it's a wee dancer that stops and steers better than the Kia.
Beyond that, while the A1 doesn't have all the gee-gaws that provision in pricier siblings, it still cross-references well with the Cerato. And in respect to cabin ambience it really impresses that today's small 'budget' Audis are nicely representative of an impressive effort to scale down the feel and air of its larger, pricier cars into its smallest package. The switchgear feels substantial, the plastics have a handsome texture and the accents are classy.
The limitations are most felt by rear-seat occupants. Actually, you're not likely to have many, because the leg room in the back is rather compromised if larger folk are up front. Foot space too, if those up front sink their seats low, which they'll be prone to do because it suits the car's perky ambience. So, not an uber choice for Uber drivers, then.
But that doesn't matter. You want a car that's fun, that expresses personality, that wins praise. In this case, less gives more.